Heat
by BTR'slovesong
Summary: James suffers during a summertime show and Kendall is there for him.


/N Ok so I heard James was throwing up backstage at a concert the other day which makes me soooo sad. I have no idea what actually happened, but I kind of need some help with some writer's block, so I decided to write a short lil one shot on it! Hope you enjoy!

James bounded sluggishly across the stage, lacking his usual stage presence and energy as he tried to sing "Show Me," ignoring the worried looks of his best friends and band mates whom he shared the stage with. It was a hot, muggy night, and James felt as if he was performing in a sauna. Sweat dripped down his forehead, stinging his eyes. His hair was matted to his head like a helmet, soaking wet, and his clothes clung to him uncomfortably.

He was warned it was going to be hot, but not _this_hot. He was warned to keep a constant flow of fluids into his body to keep from dehydrating, but he couldn't keep up with drinking water bottles at the rate he was sweating. All through the show, he could feel himself become weaker, hotter, dizzier. He tried to ignore it best he could, for the sake of his fans. After all, what would his 15,000 fans at the show think if he couldn't handle a little heat, too? They were all packed like sardines and dancing and sweating just as much as he was. If they were all doing fine, then he was fine, too.

But now that it was midway through the show, James didn't feel fine. His heart was pounding, blood rushing to his ears. The stage literally seemed to spin beneath his feet and the fans in the audience were all merged together because of his blurry vision.

"Yo, bro you ok?" Kendall asked, stopping dancing to go up to James and slap him on the back. The brunet was flushed a dangerous color of red, and he had taken a pause form singing and dancing to breath with his hands supported on his knees.

"Yeah I'm fine," James said, taking a breath and straightening up just in time for his next verse.

Across the stage, Kendall saw Logan looking at him, his eyebrows knotted in worry and confusion. Kendall shrugged and shook his head. Something was seriously wrong with James. He did not look good at all.

James was fighting back head-spinning nausea as he sang. Tears were pricking at his eyes as his stomach rolled painfully. He prayed he wouldn't throw up on stage, in front of everyone. He had to wait until after the song. But if he ran off stage during the song, fans and the guys would be alarmed. When the song finally ended and they popped out of their ending poses, James talked into his earpiece.

"Hey guys, slight wardrobe malfunction!" He announced with a forced laugh. Clutching his stomach, James ran off stage, looking for the nearest trash can.

He made it just in time. With a violent, painful heave, James was vomiting into the trashcan. His body quivered and his stomach ached, and he could feel concerned, alarmed eyes watching him in shock.

"James!"

James coughed miserably and looked up from where he was doubled over the trashcan to see Kendall running towards him, red-faced and scared.

"Kendall, what're you doing, get back on stage," James said weakly. He let out a cross between a gag and a cough, followed by a heart breaking whimper.

Kendall ignored James' demand and leaned over him, pushing his sweaty, dark hair back from his teary eyes.

"You're sick, James…"

James groaned as another wave of nausea hit him.

"It hurts, Kendall…"

"It's ok bud, just let it out," Kendall said, rubbing James back in soothing circles. James cringed, his face screwing up in pain. His stomach lurched again and he finally threw up what was left in his system.

When James finished, he was panting heavily and leaned against Kendall like a dead weight, unable to stand any longer and desperate for comfort.

Kendall held the sick boy close and gently lowered him to the floor, shouting at whoever would listen for cold water bottles and ice packs. The amount of heat radiating from James' body was insane.

"You're burning up, dude. Why didn't you tell me you were sick?" Kendall asked, slightly annoyed that James would hide being so sick, but mostly he was just worried to death.

James shrugged and buried his face in Kendall's side, trying to calm down. Whenever he opened his eyes, his world would just twist and turn, but when he had his eyes closed the vertigo wasn't so bad.

"We need to get back out there, Kendall…"

Kendall couldn't believe his ears. He wanted to hit his best friend. "Dude, no. Logan and Carlos are taking care of it. You're too sick."

"But-"

"No, James! You could end up in the hospital and not be able to do any shows for days! Do you actually want that to happen?" Kendall asked. His voice was scolding, but went softer when he felt James' tears spill onto his shirt. "I don't want that to happen to you, bro. Just let me take care of you and fix you up."

Water bottles and ice packs were shoved into Kendall's arms. The blonde placed a wrapped up ice pack on James forehead, then tilted his chin and poured a bit of water into his mouth.

"Drink slowly," Kendall warned, but James was already trying to slurp the cold water greedily. He choked and it came back up, spilling all over his and Kendall's shirts. Kendall tried not to think about the fact his best friend just pretty much threw up on him and helped him stand up on quivering knees.

"Ugh, Kendall I don't feel good," James whined, afraid he would fall over any moment. Kendall wrapped James' arm around his neck for support and helped walk him to their dressing room, where he laid him down on the couch and cranked up the air conditioning.

"You'll be ok soon, James," Kendall cooed, placing the back of his hand on his hot forehead. James curled up into a ball. Even though he was hot, he was starting to shiver for some reason, especially when Kendall started wiping his face and neck down with wet wash cloths to bring his temperature down.

Several minutes later, James' skin felt much cooler to the touch. He had fallen asleep as Kendall tended to him, and he was no longer whimpering or groaning.

Over his earpiece, Kendall received worried questions from both Carlos and Logan, asking if James was alright and if they should stop the show.

"He's alright guys, he just had to cool off a bit," Kendall told them.

"Thank God," Carlos said with a sigh. He had been extremely concerned for James. "Are you guys coming back out?"

"No, James needs to rest and I can't leave him," Kendall said. He could practically hear Logan and Carlos smiling over the earpiece if that was possible. Kendall always was very protective of the brunet.

"Alright dude, do what you gotta do," Logan said. "See ya after the show."

"Bye guys," Kendall said. He took out his earpiece and sat next to James, putting the sleeping boys' head in his lap gently and running his long fingers through his drying hair. He felt bad to skip the show, but he couldn't think about leaving James while sick, just in case he threw up again or even just needed him. For some reason, the two always clung to each other's hips while sick.

When James woke up next, he was in his somewhat familiar bunk in their tour bus, which was so cold it was almost freezing. He smiled when he realized he was in loose fitting, cool, dry clothes. Kendall must have changed him, was his only thought. It would have been weird, but Kendall and him were pretty much brothers, and James thought it was pretty nice to have someone look out for him like that.

James rolled over in his bunk to see Kendall facing him, sprawled out on the lounge, as if he fell asleep while keeping an eye on him. James smiled to himself and settled down into his pillow, feeling so much better than earlier.

Next time, James told himself, he would listen to his friends and stay hydrated throughout the show. He would not want to ever go through that again.

Although the next night, he did find himself over the trashcan once again, the sounds of gagging and heaving filling the stifling hot air. Only this time it was Kendall who hadn't listened, and James was the one doing the comforting.

A/N HA! Those boys need to take care of themselves better omg. So far we've had Carlos fall through the trampoline, Kendall need his inhaler onstage, and James throwing up. And we are only a third of the way through the tour omg usually I'm worried, wondering if us fans could survive the tour but now I'm wondering if the actual boys will lol. FIOVEIOASDFGTHK LOGAN'S NEXT. LOL.

Please review this stupid little thing lol. It makes me all happy and stuffs. OH! And a few things before I leave:

My tumblr is danceit-elevateit

My twitter is Channy_Girl20


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